is one of the

100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by Mountaineering, mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan ...

, reaching the height of . It is situated in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Hida Mountains The , or , is a Japanese mountain range which stretches through Nagano, Toyama and Gifu prefectures. A small portion of the mountains also reach into Niigata Prefecture. William Gowland coined the phrase "Japanese Alps" during his time in Jap ...

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

and in

Chūbu-Sangaku National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of Japan. It was established around the Hida Mountains and encompasses parts of Nagano, Gifu, Toyama and Niigata prefectures. It was designated a national park on December 4, 1934, along with Daisetsuzan ...

. The shape of the mountain looks like the

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

("Kasa"-笠) in the triangle. Therefore, it became this name. There are many mountains with same name in Japan and this is the tallest.

History

* In 1683 – It was said that

Enkū (1632–1695) was a Japanese Buddhist monk, poet and sculptor during the early Edo period. He was born in Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture) and is famous for carving some 120,000 wooden statues of the Buddha and other Buddhist icons, ...

had opened this mountain. * In 1823 – The Buddhist monk Banryū climbed to the top, and placed a bronze Buddha statue at the top in 1824. * In 1894, August 2 – Englishman

Walter Weston Walter Weston (25 December 1861 – 27 March 1940) was an English clergyman and Anglican missionary who helped popularise recreational mountaineering in Japan at the turn of the 20th century. Background and early life Weston was born 25 Dece ...

had climbed on the top. * In 1913, August – Usui Kojima had climbed on the top. * In 1932 –

Mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...

of Kasa Mountain Cottage (笠ヶ岳山荘) was constructed near the top. * In 1934, December 4 – This area was specified to the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park. * In 1964 – "Kasa-shin-dō"(笠新道) of the new

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

had been made. Then it is the main route to the Mount Kasa. * In 1993 –

Postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

of Mount Kasa and

Takayama Festival The in Takayama in Japan started in the 16th to 17th century.Lo, P. (n.d.) Japan guide: Takayama and Gero onsen. Retrieved on August 06, 2009. From http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/gifu/takayama.html The festivals are believed t ...

was put on the market by the

Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (Japan) The was one of the Ministries of Japan, ministries in the Japanese government. It was formed on 1 August 1952 by the merger of the Ministry of Postal Services (郵政省) and the Ministry of Telecommunications (電気通信省), which themsel ...

. * In 1995 – Sumie Tanaka (田中澄江 ''Tanaka Sumie'') completed ''New Flowers of the 100 Mountains'', which featured many of the

Alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxon, taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial g ...

(Trollius japonicus シナノキンバイ and others) on Mount Kasa.

Mountaineering

Main ascent routes

Hida Mountains from Mount Kasa 2002-8-29

There are three climbing routes to the top of the mountain. ;Kasa-shin-dō :Shin-Hotaka

Onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

(新穂高温泉) – Mount Nukedo – Kasa Mountain Cottage – Mount Kasa ;Valley Kuriya :Nakao-Kōgen-guchi (中尾高原口) –

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

Kuriya – Mount Kasa ;Traverses Route of Northern Japanese Alps (Hida Mountains) from north side :Mount Sugoroku – Mount Yumiori – Mount Nukedo – Kasa Mountain Cottage – Mount Kasa

Mountain hut

Thera are several

around Mount Kasa. Around Shin-Hotaka-Onsen, there are many hot spring (

) to take the tiredness and to relax. * Kasa Mountain Cottage (笠ヶ岳山荘) – near the top (with

Campsite Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

) * Wasabi-Daira Hut (ワサビ平小屋) – near the entrance of Kasa-shin-dō * Kagami-Daira Mountain Cottage (鏡平山荘) – near the

Pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

Kagami(鏡池) * Sugoroku Hut (双六小屋) – between Mount Sugoroku and Mount Momisawa (with Campsite)

Geography

It is the mountain that consists chiefly of the

Porphyry (geology) Porphyry ( ) is any of various granites or igneous rocks with coarse-grained crystals such as feldspar or quartz dispersed in a fine-grained silicate-rich, generally aphanitic matrix or groundmass. In its non-geologic, traditional use, the ...

. The higher region than Shakushi-daira (杓子平) are the forest limit of

Siberian Dwarf Pine ''Pinus pumila'', commonly known as the Siberian dwarf pine, dwarf Siberian pine, dwarf stone pine, Japanese stone pine, or creeping pine, is a tree in the family Pinaceae native plant, native to northeastern Asia and the Japan, Japanese isles. ...

belt, and the place that

grows naturally and

Rock Ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in Europe. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

live.

Nearby mountains

Mount Kasa is on the subridge (from Mount Sugoroku) of the main ridge line in the southern part of the

. There are Mount Shakujō and Mount Ōkibanotsuji on the southern ridge. Mount Yari and Mount Hotaka from Mount Kasa 1999-8-8

Rivers

The mountain is the source of the following

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s, each of which flows to the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

. * Sugoroku River (a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Jinzū River The is a river that flows from Gifu Prefecture to Toyama Prefecture in Japan. The upper reaches of the river in Gifu are called the Miya River. It is in length and has a watershed of . Etymology The official name for the river is "Jinzu Gawa" ( ...

) * Gamata River (tributaries of the Takahara River)

Gallery

File:Mount_Kasagatake_from_Mount_Nukedo_1999-8-8.jpg, Mount Kasa
from Mount Nukedo File:Kasagatake Takayama02s3872.jpg, Mount Kasa
from south File:Mount Kasa and Mount Yari from Mount Kurai 2005-3-21.JPG, Mount Kasa
from Mount Kurai File:Mount_Kasa_from_Mount_Suisho_2004-8-13.jpg, Mount Kasa and Hida Mountains
from Mount Suisho